The Bács-Bodrog County Palace ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Палата Бачко-бодрошке жупаније у Сомбору, Palata Bačko-bodroške županije u Somboru), known colloquially as Županija (''lit. The County''), is a representative building housing the municipal institutions of

Sombor Sombor ( sr-Cyrl, Сомбор, ; ; ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the West Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city has a total population of 41,814 (), while its adminis ...

, city in the northwest of

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. Historically it was built to house institutions of the

Bács-Bodrog County Bács-Bodrog County (, , ) was an administrative county () of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1802 to 1920. Most of its territory is currently part of Serbia, while a smaller part belongs to Hungary. The capital of the county was Zombor (present-day ...

. Due to its heritage value, it is listed as a protected cultural monument of the Republic of Serbia. Its eclectic

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

dates back to 1882. The building features a ground floor, two upper floors, and a trapezoidal roof with dormer windows, adorned with four large vases with garlands and a central mandorla.

History

After the retreat of the Ottomans in 1687, Sombor became part of Bačka County, which administratively absorbed the former

Bodrog County The Bodrog is a river in eastern Slovakia and north-eastern Hungary. It is a tributary of the river Tisza. The Bodrog is formed by the confluence of the rivers Ondava and Latorica near Zemplín in eastern Slovakia. It crosses the Slovak–Hu ...

in 1802. By the mid-18th century, Sombor hosted occasional county assemblies but did not yet house a permanent administrative centre. Despite initial resistance, including opposition to Sombor becoming a free royal city in 1749, Sombor emerged as the county seat when

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I, ...

designated it as the permanent administrative centre of the county in 1786. Initially housed in a former Franciscan monastery, the growing administrative needs led to the construction of a dedicated county building. This new two-story structure, designed by county engineer Anton Bauer, was built between 1805 and 1809 on land provided by the city. It featured a rectangular layout with assembly halls and office spaces and was notable for its imposing presence, as described by contemporaries. By 1809, all county services relocated to this building. The building was originally protected by the provincial authorities of

on 21 August 1948 and by nationwide decision in 1997.

References

{{Castles, fortresses and palaces in Serbia Sombor Palaces in Serbia City and town halls in Serbia Architecture in Serbia Bács-Bodrog

History

See also

References